


Flames We Lit

by Jiemme



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Criminology Student Rin, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, M/M, Physics Major Rei, lots of science and dorks, mentions of Sousuke Yamazaki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiemme/pseuds/Jiemme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chemistry Laboratory. Flame test experiment. A misunderstanding. Nagisa’s matchmaking.</p><p>Rin and Rei’s spark.</p><p>[or the “we’re doing a lab in chemistry with the “flame test” where you set an element on fire and we’re supposed to record what color the flame is, but i have no fucking clue what color it’s supposed to be so i’m copying your answers and now you think i’m trying to cheat” AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ignite

**Author's Note:**

> I am a science dork. Like Rei! Did the flame test in basic Chemistry lab back in 1st year college, it was beautiful, like RinRei, and I really liked the prompt when I saw it. Please enjoy the nerdiness! :D

As a sophomore in Criminology, Rin is allowed to take certain subjects that serve as pre-requisites for his preferred field of specialization. Unlike his classmates, his eyes are already fixed on Forensic Science, a subset of Forensic Criminology. For him, it’s a perfect combination and balance of psychology, sociology, and science that will aid in analyzing crime scenes and criminals he will encounter one day.

His father had told him stories of his days as a cop-slash-detective back when Rin was younger. The thrill of investigating crime scenes never leaves him despite knowing the horror that caused what surrounds him. Playing Ace Attorney with Haruka and Makoto in his childhood fanned the flame of his desire, and the untimely death of Rin’s father has kept it alive ever since.

He wants to make his family proud. His father proud. He’s on his way.

Unfortunately, he isn’t allowed to take Criminology 150: Forensic Science just yet. He needs to take the most basic Chemistry course first.

Which is why Rin finds himself in his tattered high school lab gown with two buttons less than it should have, a gray blotted stain on his sleeve ( _gee thanks, Haru_ ), and a burnt spot on his collar ( _thanks again, Haru!_ ). Thankfully, his freshman classmates in the laboratory hadn’t given his lab gown a second look after their first experiment, because he had introduced himself as a sophomore during their orientation day. Bless the unspoken rule on respecting upperclassmen. Granted, he isn’t the only non-freshman in class, although he’s definitely not one repeating the subject.

Rin finds himself enjoying Chemistry Laboratory more than the lecture class, even though his pleasant demeanor towards it is only defined by three meetings. Their professor is competent, their experiments are in a modest level of challenging, and his classmates are helpful. His lab partner, Hina, moves fast around the lab, sure of what he’s doing, but makes sure that Rin keeps up. Of course, he does. He wasn’t awarded _Best in Chemistry_ back in their second year of high school for nothing.

After wrapping up for their third experiment, which is a fast one, much to Rin’s joy, their professor asked them to wear their safety goggles and gather around the central workstation, carrying a line-up of beakers with different-colored powders, either fine or coarse, and a Bunsen burner in front of them. Rin is the last to reach the workstation because it was his turn to clear out the first workstation in the lab room.

“So, class, before I dismiss you, I wanted us to have a pseudo-experiment since we were able to finish the one scheduled today,” their professor begins. Some freshmen start whispering to each other, but their professor just smiles in response. “Now, now, I assure you that this is a fun experiment. I will still email a worksheet for you to answer and it will be due on our next meeting, which is next week.”

The freshmen still keep whispering, much to Rin’s annoyance. Even Hina-san! Are they itching to leave class that badly?

Their professor sighs, still keeping a smile on. “I will be performing the experiment. You just have to observe.”

The chatter dies rapidly, along with Rin’s initial impression of the class. Were they that lazy? Wait until they move up a year.

Their professor lights up the Bunsen burner immediately. At the same time, the largest student in their class, a towering 6’2 with a swimmer’s build (and body, based on rumors the girls in the class have spread), moves in front of Rin, completely blocking the redhead’s view of the workstation.

“Uh, excuse me,” he says, but the student in front of him doesn’t budge.

Rin’s annoyance and constant tapping on the student’s back blocks out his professor’s explanation on the experiment. All Rin retains are the words “flame test”, and the rest of his mind are spouting mental curses or plotting how to view the workstation again.

“Excuse me,” he growls, and the low tone of his voice finally catches the larger boy’s attention.

He had the gall to smile at Rin!

“Oh, sorry! Here,” he says, placing his arm around Rin’s shoulders and moving Rin in front of him.

Rin watches as their professor dips a cotton swab in a clear reagent (water?) and consequently dabs it on one beaker filled with powder. “Remember class, these are metal salts,” their professor repeats, as though she had heard Rin’s thoughts. “Okay, so it’s your job to note the colors of these salts and state on your worksheet what you think the metal salts are. Do some research and put in proper citations. I don’t want plagiarism.”

She proceeds to move the cotton swab closer to the flame. Rin cranes his head forward, curious to see the flame color. They had discussed the flame test in high school, but never performed it. (Which was a relief, because if Haru was careful with water, the opposite could be said with fire.) The tip of the swab finally touches the flame, and the color is–

Uncaptured by his field of vision. A student moved in front of him faster than a blink of an eye, and Rin holds back his needlessly growing rage by tapping his classmate’s shoulder. “Excuse me, I can’t see.”

The student moves, muttering something under his breath, and before Rin can finally see the flame’s color, another head moves in. And another. And another. And… another. If heads aren’t disrupting Rin’s chance to see the flame, lab notebooks covered it.

The trend continues, and their professor reaches the fifth beaker while Rin has NOTHING written in his lab notebook’s page. How the hell will he be able to answer the worksheet? And Hina may be a good lab partner, but he’s unreasonably greedy with data. When Rin had forgetten to write the weight of calcium chloride they measured during the first day, Hina looked very reluctant to give the information he needed. Thankfully, they were within earshot of their professor.

He can’t trust Hina. Period.

But how will he fare for the worksheet? He doesn’t know if he can trust his other classmates.

He shifts his eyes sidewards, spotting one of his classmates jotting down everything religiously, from the color of the flame to the color of the salts in each beaker, and even the intensity of the flame. Rin squints his eyes, hoping to at least know what the previous flame colors are.

 _~~Red-Orange~~ _ _Orange-Red_

 _~~Light~~ _ _~~Yellow-Green~~ Lime Green_

_Orange_

_Yellow_

_~~Red-Violet~~ _ _Maroon_

Suddenly, the notebook slams shut. Rin looks up and sees its blue-haired holder staring at him.

His eyes are vibrant violet, like the violet of the sky during twilight, hiding behind red rectangular frames. His gaze was serious, his lips a line, and Rin can’t tell if this person was furious or suspicious of him. Rin desperately wants to explain, but the boy turns away.

“Ino-san, please move. I can’t see.”

The boy right in front of him shrinks downwards and moves, giving Rin a partial, but better, view of the workstation.

He glances back at the boy with red glasses. He continues writing, and Rin decides to do the same. He can thank the blue-haired boy after class and explain he wasn’t trying to cheat off of him.

However, the blue-haired boy vanishes from the lab room immediately after the experiment, but not before Rin catches a glimpse of him talking to their professor.

Crap.

_Did he… tell on me?_


	2. Flicker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with Rin and two couples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg thank you to everyone who read, left kudos, and bookmarked this fic!!! :D And thank you to scarletsaber, shadesofcolors, and Kanariiya for leaving comments! This is my first time writing RinRei so I'm really happy that this fic is doing well so far. I hope you guys still keep reading! I also corrected some typos found in the previous chapter :)
> 
> Not much Rei on this chapter, but I shall compensate for it on the next chapters. This is basically the chapter that introduces Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Gou. They're all university students - Rin, Haru, Makoto as 2nd years and Rei, Nagisa, and Gou as 1st years. Haru and Makoto have to ride a train to reach their respective universities, while Rin, Rei, Nagisa, and Gou are in the same one (found really near their boarding house). As to what they are taking in college is in the end notes :D
> 
> References include Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. (bc Makoto is the champion in games and u kno it), Pokemon and Kirby, High Speed! 2 (in the form of Makkou, the dog that Haru came to own and first planned to name after Makoto). I'm also a diehard NagiGou fan so forgive me if I put too much in this chapter XD

“Fucking hell, Haru, what am I supposed to do?”

Rin uncurls his body and gazes at the room ceiling, wishing the bed would just swallow him whole. He had been thinking nonstop about his status in Chemistry lab ever since he saw his blue-haired classmate (Megane, Rin nicknames the boy) talk to their professor. She didn’t approach him after class, which confuses him – will she confront Rin about it in front of the class or did Megane tell her something else? But then again, he’s pretty sure she had given him a strange look when they crossed paths yesterday in the Chemistry Institute cafeteria.

He’s doomed. His perfectly honorable record will be tarnished.

Like Haru gives a fuck, though. The guy doesn’t even respond with a hum.

Rin grits his teeth and leans his body sideways, feeling the skin over his ribs sink on the soft mattress, and spots Haruka and Makoto sitting at his bedside. He glances over at the bed parallel to his, seeing his sister and Nagisa leaning onto each other’s backs, both mashing buttons on their 3DS consoles. Of course, how could Rin forget? It was their weekly Super Smash Bros. day, and his complaining had blocked out the videogame sounds coming from their consoles. Haru and Makoto are also playing with the pair, what with Haru’s more-than-usual unresponsiveness and with his and Makoto’s heads bowed down.

Nagisa groans, leaning his head back, and Gou drops her console on the bed with hands shaking.

“Mako-chaaaaaaan,” Nagisa whines. “Please stop using Jigglypuff! No one else wins when you play Jigglypuff!”

“How are you so good at this, Makoto-senpai?” Gou adds, pouting at Makoto’s (and Haru’s and Rin’s) direction.

Haru huffs and glances at Makoto. “No Kirby.”

Makoto, Nagisa, and Gou gawk at him. “Haru-chan! It’s Jigglypuff, not Kirby!”

Rin groans and plops his head on his pillow. It’s always been Haru and Makoto’s routine when they were still freshmen to play videogames during free Fridays, and now that Gou and Nagisa moved in to study in the university, the four of them made it a weekly tradition. Rin, being the sole spectator of their gaming, had to endure screaming and proclamations of “friendship over!” and even betting pools every single time they played together. (He can’t really join in because only Gou has a 3DS, and she won’t let him borrow hers or Nagisa’s due to her competitive streak against her bubbly boyfriend. Same can be said with Haruka. Not that Rin wants to play anyway.)

This week, Nagisa wants an all Pokémon-match, which adds Rin’s frustration for Haru because they had played Pokémon when they were younger and he still keeps insisting Jigglypuff is Kirby. Jokingly or not, he doesn't know.

“Okay, I know!” Nagisa chirps.  “Let’s all play as Jigglypuff!”

Makoto laughs softly. “C-can we play again later? I’m feeling hungry.”

Haru nods in agreement and glances at Rin. “You said something earlier, right?”

Rin grips the pillow below him and tosses it, hoping it lands on Haru’s head.

“Ow.”

“R-Rin!”

“Yay, pillow fight!”

“Nagisa-kun, we’re going to eat!”

* * *

“Itadakimasu!”

Rin mentally notes he’ll have to thank Makoto for convincing Haru to cook something other than grilled mackerel tonight. For a culinary arts student, Haruka enjoys limiting his menu to select dishes of his favorite fish. Makoto reassures Rin that Haruka will cook other delicious dishes when they refurbish and reopen the Nanases’ diner in Iwatobi, but Rin is too impatient to wait for that diner to eat decent meals for dinner.

“Wow, Salisbury Steak! And soup!” Nagisa exclaims, his pink eyes starry and wide. “Thank you, Haru-chan!”

“This is really delicious!” Gou says after swallowing her first mouthful. “Tastier than the last one you made, Haruka-senpai!”

Makoto beams at Haru with a gentle smile, and Haruka’s sparkling eyes betray his straight face. Compliments to the chef taken literally flatters him.

“Green curry tomorrow,” Haruka adds before taking a bite of his own dish, anticipating a landslide of Makoto’s endless thanks accompanied with an angelic smile.

“Mako, you should eat. You can thank Haru tomorrow,” Rin chuckles. “Good job on the steak, Haru.”

Haru nods, and their mouths fall silent. Their dining room is filled with sounds of clanks and chinks of their forks and glasses. Everyone must be hungry – even Nagisa isn’t breaking the silence to tell his stories.

In the end, Rin finds the silence deafening. “S-so, how was everyone’s day?”

“Great! I sent an application to be an apprentice in the campus radio station, and I also sent an application to join the hip hop dance crew Gou-chan and I watched a week ago!” Nagisa says in muffled sounds, in between gobbles and gulps. Gou stares at him with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t talk when your mouth is full, Nagisa,” she sighs. Nagisa pouts and apologizes.

Rin watches his sister cave in to Nagisa's cute ways and sighs. The younger blond, much to Rin’s annoyance, holds the title “Gou’s Middle School Crush” turned “Gou’s High School Sweetheart” turned “Gou’s Boyfriend”, a longshot from Rin’s title for Nagisa: “The Devil Spawn in Short Boy’s Clothing”. Rin has to admit to himself, though, that he respects and even owes Nagisa for showering Gou with the love and attention she deserves. It’s a stretch, how Nagisa spends extravagantly to cater to his girlfriend, but Rin decides it’s better than having someone hold back spending for his precious sister. And Nagisa is adventurous and vivacious to a fault, giving Gou the perfect package of a cute, upbeat boyfriend who plans lively and unique dates.

“Wow, Nagisa, that’s really amazing!” Makoto says, grinning. “But will the college radio group accept freshmen?”

Gou nods, her eyes glinting. “I asked them personally. I think it’s a great way for Nagisa-kun to gain experience,” she says in a business-like tone.

“Are you sure about joining the dance group?” Haru adds, voice mildly stern. Makoto’s mother-like doting on Nagisa is starting to rub onto Haru in the form of father-like inquiries.

Nagisa nods. “Yeah! I think I can handle all that. Since I won’t be joining the swim club, then I should try something else, right? I like dancing! Also, Gou-chan thinks I’d look cool if I join and perform with them in competitions!”

Gou’s face turn as red as her hair. “W-When did I say that? And it’s Kou!”

Rin snorts. “You can take dance classes, y’know.”

“But I’m really interested in joining, Rinrin!” (Rin tries to ignore the pet name designated to him.) “Also, I’ll bet 10 Yen that you’ll let me marry Gou-chan in a heartbeat when you see my dancing!”

“As if!” Rin scoffs. “And you could at least raise your stakes in betting!”

Nagisa’s boisterous laughter is masked by Makoto’s quick intervention. “U-uh, H-Haru-chan and I f-found a dog this morning! I-it kept following us to the train station! And when we came back, he’s still there!”

Rin grins. “Just like Makkou?” he asks, recalling the dog Haru and Makoto came to own back in middle school.

“Makkou was well-trained,” Haru interjects before sipping his soup. “And he barked less.”

“Ooh, a dog!” Nagisa exclaims excitedly. “Did it follow you guys back here?”

Makoto nods. “He’s still outside.”

Rin notices the pleading look on Makoto’s face. He shifts his attention to Nagisa, who looks conflicted. Since their boarding house is actually the Tokyo residence of Nagisa’s family, the boy's parents have the final say.

“Sorry, Mako-chan. Mom and Dad strictly said no pets,” Nagisa explains, frowning. “But we can still feed him. Maybe if I talk to my sister, she’ll help convince them.”

“We could make a dog house,” Rin adds, hoping to cheer Makoto up somehow. “How about your day, Gou?”

“The usual,” she answers. “I’ve been memorizing more terms on human anatomy.”

In Gou-speak, she’s been memorizing the scientific names of muscles. Rin still wonders whether she took up Physical Therapy just because of them, but he does not dare ask.

“Gou-chan works so hard,” Nagisa chirps. “She always borrows books in the library when we meet each other after classes.”

“Good,” Rin says, giving his sister a proud look. Gou smiles back.

“How about you, Rin? How’d your day go?” Makoto asks.

“You were talking about something earlier,” Haru continues. “You hit me because I wasn’t listening, right?”

 _Oi vey_ , Rin thinks. He has to repeat everything again from the top, but at least he has Haru’s (and everyone else’s) attention.

“You do remember it’s game night.”

In Rin’s defense, they were pretty quiet while playing earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters - Degree Programs (notes and extra-curriculars):
> 
> Rin - Criminology (specialization in Forensic Criminology)  
> Rei - Physics  
> Haru - Culinary Arts  
> Makoto - Education, major in Early Childhood Education (Pre-school)  
> Nagisa - Communication Studies (major in Broadcasting; plans to join the campus radio group and hip hop dance crew)  
> Gou - Physical Therapy (plans to enter the program's Sports Science Laboratory)
> 
> Also, do you guys want to keep the dog around? :D


	3. Kindle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa asks Rin if he wants to go on a friendly date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read and left kudos!!! :D I'm really happy to see my inbox get filled with AO3 notifications about it :')
> 
> As promised, I added more Rei in this chapter, and he will be appearing more from this point on. Please enjoy!!!

 

“You’re sure you weren’t cheating?” Haru says, the question rolling off his tongue like a solid fact instead. Rin can’t tell if Haru is mocking him or trying to make him confess. Did he not catch the seriousness of his voice? Did he actually listen to his story?

“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t tell anyone if I actually cheated, Haru,” Rin hisses with narrowed eyes. Haru often talks to Rin as though he forgets the latter is capable of using common sense. “Especially to you.”

Makoto cringes. “C-Calm down, everyone. I’m sure Haru didn’t mean to imply anything, Rin.”

Before Rin says anything, he realizes his face might have given away what he’s thinking. Nagisa notices the growing tension and begins scooting his chair away from Rin’s direction. Haru huffs and returns his attention to his dinner plate. It’s not like he and Haru are prone to fist fights, but Nagisa still knows better than to stay near them. Even with him or Makoto around to pacify the situation, Haru and Rin can still end up yelling at each other.

“Haruka-senpai is right, though,” Gou scolds, placing her eating utensils down. “Onii-chan, you could’ve just ASKED instead of LOOKED at that guy’s notebook. Even though you weren’t trying to cheat, you looked like you were trying to.”

“This is not helping me calm down, Gou,” Rin grumbles, moving the remaining pieces of rice on his plate towards the corner. He hears Haru chuckle very, very softly, his own way of saying “I told you so”.

“So what if you don’t trust your partner in lab? That doesn’t mean your other classmates are like that,” she adds, wagging her finger at his face with eyebrows scrunched together. Rin’s ears turn bright red – it occurs to him now that he has committed a logical fallacy, something he has thoroughly studied in his Philosophy class a semester ago. The promise of being careful with words and ideas he made after taking pride in knowing what fallacies are, he realizes, easily crumbles when he gets angry.

“Maybe you can talk to the guy next week?” Makoto suggests with a weak smile. “I-I think if he told your teacher, she should have talked to you immediately when she saw you yesterday, or even right after he talked to her.”

“True,” Nagisa chimes. “I mean, my classmate was caught cheating in our morning quiz the other day by his seatmate and our professor called out his shit right after he was told on.”

While Gou pinches Nagisa for using such language in front of the dinner table, Rin glances at Makoto. “Do you really think so, Mako?”

The taller boy nods. “Don’t overthink too much, Rin,” he assures. Rin bites back the temptation to tell Makoto to follow his own advice. He notices Haru peek at Makoto from the corner of his eye. Perhaps he has thought of the same thing as Rin.

“I’ll get the ice cream in the fridge,” Haru says, standing up and picking up his dinner plate. Nagisa follows suit, leaping excitedly to the kitchen nearby, and returns with five large bowls, spoons, and the ice cream scoop. He distributes the bowls and spoons and hops back onto his seat, chanting “ice cream” repeatedly with Gou. Makoto smiles at their closeness, while Rin can’t help but rewind the moment of Megane talking to their professor repeatedly in his mind.

“Rin,” Haru says, breaking Rin’s train of thought. He must have noticed Rin’s expression when he entered the dining room with a large tub of ice cream. “Pass this to Nagisa. He’s drooling.”

Rin chuckles as he grabs the tub from Haru. Gou and Makoto end up laughing at Nagisa’s pout. “Haru-chan is so mean! I’m not drooling!”

After filling their bowls with many scoops of ice cream, Nagisa begins asking everyone if they want to watch the new horror movie on Sunday. Makoto sinks on his seat, slowly sliding below the table after hearing the title of the movie, while Haru quickly rejects the invitation with a flat “No”. Gou, much to Rin’s dismay, eagerly agrees because her level of daring is on par with Nagisa’s, before Rin remembers they’re in a committed relationship.

It’s not his fault for forgetting sometimes. The way they started dating didn’t… reach his _shoujo_ standards back in high school. They liked each other since middle school, which allowed them to easily slip into a relationship without anything dramatic in between. “Not all relationships are like the ones in shoujo manga. You have to move on to josei,” Haru had told him (which earned Haru a bruise on the shoulder and Rin a lecture from Makoto).

“Haru-chan, please! It’ll be fun!” Nagisa cheers. “Mako-chan, it’s going to be awesome! They’re going to show it in 3D! You like watching movies in 3D, right?”

“No,” Haru repeats as he pulls Makoto up from the bottom of the table.

“How about you, Rinrin?” the blond adds, beaming.

“I’ll pass,” Rin sighs. As much as he doesn’t like leaving Gou alone with Nagisa in a dark movie theater where kisses can be exchanged and arms can be wrapped around each other, he dislikes the movie Nagisa suggested even more.

Nagisa snaps his fingers together. Rin sighs, readying himself to declare another big, fat no. “Wait, Rinrin, I have a better idea!”

Fuck. What is it now?

“So right you have that dating app installed in your phone?” Nagisa asks. Rin drops his spoon.

“WHAT?!”

Gou’s eyes widen. “Huh? Onii-chan has a dating app on his phone?”

“Yeah!” Nagisa exclaims, eyes bright. “I saw it the other day since you asked Haru-chan and me to catch Pokémon in your Pokémon GO account!”

All eyes land on the redhead male, Makoto looking extremely shocked and Gou slightly apprehensive. She’s probably assuming he’s at the point of desperation to find someone, but he has never even thought of installing a dating application on his phone.

Rin’s eyes narrow and quickly leer at Haru, who now wears the tiniest (almost microscopic) smirk on his face.

 _Damn it_ , he thinks. Haru can be a shitlord if he dares to be one.

He isn’t even looking for someone right now! (And he wonders how in the world he hasn’t noticed the application in the first place.)

“What. About. It,” Rin says stiffly.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it long and hard, since you deserve a great person! And I have a friend I think you can really hit things off with,” the younger boy continues. “He’s cool-looking and really funny, especially if you push his buttons, and he has a funny laugh.”

Rin scowls. “You know you’re not endorsing him properly, right?”

Nagisa giggles. “I know, Rin-chan. But yeah, he’s really smart, but not the intimidating kind of smart. Even though what he studies can be boring, when he talks about them, he makes them sound interesting because he’s so passionate about them and he knows what he’s talking about, and he'll make sure you understand them. He’s also really funny, awkward sometimes, has good fashion sense sometimes, makes decent jokes sometimes. A lot of sometimes, but he’s funny always. And I’m telling you, he’s good looking. Back in elementary school, all the girls in class kept asking me if he had a crush on them. It’s got really annoying, but it can’t be helped.”

Nagisa looks hopeful. Extremely so, that the words of rejection Rin has formulated suddenly flew like nonexistent dust in the windy currents of his mind. Dumbly, the only words that roll off his tongue are, “Is he still good-looking?”

“Yeah! He looks even cooler now, like, uh… Sakamoto!”

Makoto tries to stifle a laugh. “I did see Rin reading the manga the other day.”

“I think a cool guy would suit Onii-chan well,” Gou chirps, giggling.

“Come on, Rinrin,” Nagisa pleads. “I think it’s a great way for you to unwind. Obviously, you’re stressed out about that ‘cheating or not cheating’ problem you have, so I think meeting a cute guy could help you. And you don’t have to force yourself to be romantically invested or anything! He’s fine with being friends!”

“Wait, wait,” Rin interrupts. “You already asked your friend?!”

Nagisa chuckles. “Yeah, since he’s the first guy that popped in my mind after seeing the dating app on your phone. I really think you two could be good friends, maybe even boyfriends if the date goes well!”

_Since when did Haru install the app on my phone?!_

“I almost forgot – he’s studying Physics in our university, and he’s currently interested in the physics of swimming,” the boy adds. “Right, right! That’s why I got him to agree! You can help him out, Rinrin!”

“It won’t hurt,” Haru says, finally breaking his silence. “To go on a date, that is.”

 _No shit, Sherlock_ , Rin wants to say. _Your stupid application catalyzed this whole conversation!_

“If you don’t hit it off, you’d still make a new friend and even help him out. Nagisa also worked hard to find him for you,” he continues.

He does make a good point. Makoto and Gou look supportive now too.

Damn Nagisa and his convincingness.

“I’ll… think about it,” Rin answers in a soft voice. “What’s his name?”

“Ryugazaki Rei,” Nagisa replies. Rin feels something flash in his mind. Like he has heard the name before. _Nah, impossible._  “He was my best friend in elementary school, but he moved away from Iwatobi before middle school. We kept in touch, and he even watched our relay in the nationals back in high school!”

Rin’s throat goes dry. “Nationals, huh…”

“Yeah! I think it’s why he became interested in the physics of swimming. I told him about you, since he admired your butterfly so much, but he can’t remember your face so he’s looking forward to meet you.”

Nagisa pauses to have more ice cream, then, “I’m not forcing you to go, Rinrin, but it would really be cool if you can. I only told him anyway that you’re going to help him out with what he wants to know. It’s just a bonus if you guys start falling for each other, y’know?”

Rin’s face goes bright red. “W-wh-that’s ridiculous, falling for someone that fast,” he mumbles.

Haru chuckles. “He’s right. His life isn’t a shoujo manga, after all.”

“Could you please drop it, Haru?!” Rin screeches, earning more laughter from the others.

After they all finished their ice cream, Makoto, Nagisa, and Gou quickly scurry to the bathroom to brush their teeth, ready to play another round of videogames. Haru opts to wash the dishes himself, asking Rin to carry all the bowls to the kitchen.

“Think about Nagisa’s offer,” Haru says. “It won’t hurt.”

Rin groans. “You already said that earlier.”

“Sousuke won’t mind, Rin.”

He stares at Haru blankly, but Haru doesn’t say anything more.

\--

Rin, after sitting alone in a nearby café for half an hour, feels stood up, and finally understands why some people cry over the experience. It feels shitty to wait, and wait, and wait, to expect someone to walk in the door but to end up disappointed that they aren’t the person he’s supposed to meet. Even if Nagisa didn’t give him a picture of this Ryugazaki person ( _“It’s a surprise, Rinrin! You’ll know him when you see him!”_ ), Rin can tell whether a person who enters the café will look for him or not. And so far, most of the people entering are girls, and Nagisa has assured Rin that Ryugazaki is a guy (despite his girly name, which Nagisa likes repeating).

It feels even worse knowing that Gou had dolled him up with clothes that aren’t sweatshirts with matching sweatpants. She had handpicked clothes the very moment he said yes to Nagisa’s offer, choosing one of his semi-formal sweater vests and well-ironed pants. To bring out his eyes, Gou said, as though she suddenly became a fashion expert. Nagisa, who surprisingly has more experience in matching clothes due to his sisters, approved of what Gou selected for him. His sister had told him to tie his long hair too, which after much debate including Haruka and Makoto, was resolved with agreeing to his sister’s recommendation.

Rin was taken aback when Nagisa said their date would be on Saturday, which was tomorrow for Friday, and yesterday was the very Friday Nagisa had asked him to go. Ryugazaki must be too eager to know about the physics of swimming, which Rin is sure Ryugazaki can find on the internet or in select textbooks, but perhaps he wants to know it based on experience. He doesn’t mind, though – he loves swimming, and his knowledge on Physics isn’t too shabby either.

He takes a sip of his hot chocolate and glances at the café’s glass door again, watching people pass by the café without giving it a second look. Maybe they have noticed the shop’s nearly full, and the line in front of the counter is longer than usual. Rin grabs his phone from his pocket and notices a text message from Nagisa.

**[From: Nagisa – 10:38 AM]**

**rinrin (T** **⌓** **T) i forgot to give u reis number im so sorryyyyyy he texted me and hes on his way!!! he just passed something in uni!!!**

Rin smiles. Nagisa may be too peppy and boisterous for his tastes at times, but he cares so much that even the simplest things can worry him sometimes.

**[Compose Message – To: Nagisa]**

**it's fine, I can wait :)**

He presses the send button the very moment he hears the café bell that’s hung above the door ring. Rin raises his head and finds himself staring at smart and polished white brogue shoes, knee-length maroon shorts, a blue polo with folded sleeves underneath a gray buttoned vest, and–

Red glasses. Serious face. Blue hair.

_Shit. Shit shit shit!_

Megane’s attention is towards the blackboard menu behind the counter, and he walks towards the seating area with his phone in hand. Then, he pauses, three feet away from Rin, glances up from his phone and scans the area.

His eyes land on Rin.

_Fuck. Shit. FUCK. I’m SCREWED._

This is what he gets for not retaining the names of his classmates during the orientation day.

“A-are you, uh, Matsuoka-san?” Megane says, voice cool as ice. Rin stares at his violet eyes, hoping to get a hint of the other boy’s emotions. He gets nothing – _unreadable!_ – while he’s sure that his eyes easily convey horror and confusion.

“R-Ryugazaki, right?” he squeaks. Megane – no, Rei Ryugazaki, nods, face still serious.

Rin mentally notes to himself to scare Nagisa’s wits off later if the horror movie didn’t do the trick.

**[From: Nagisa – 10:41 AM]**

**hes there rinrin!!!! have fun ok! pls tell us how the date goes later!!! (´** **∀** **`)**

**[From: Haru – 10:41 AM]**

**have fun. but don't show him your teeth. might scare him. makoto says smile nicely.**

Maybe castrating Haru should be part of his plan too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also a clarification - there won't be any love triangles for RinRei in this fic (just in case anyone is worried that I might dish out SouRinRei, though I kinda ship it HAHAHA XD). Sousuke will appear but I won't write him as the 'guy who gets in the way' bc come on, he wants Rin to be happy :) I can't find myself to write Sousuke that way bc he's such a sweetheart (with intimidating looks XD)
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter!


	4. Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was all just a misunderstanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for not updating sooner! School life got me goooood. XD
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read, left kudos, and bookmarked! :D I hope I can make up for not updating sooner with this long chapter!

“Have you ordered anything?”

“J-just a cup of hot chocolate. I, uh, thought this would just be our meeting place. Unless you want to eat here.”

Ryugazaki scares Rin.

He isn’t joking at all. Ryugazaki’s expression lacks any emotion, not even exasperation or curiosity at Rin’s reply, and it can even compete with Haru’s 24/7 poker face. He doesn’t even bother to sit down, for crying out loud, and his stance is just as stiff as his face. Rin can feel his heartbeats quicken and his palms sweat, noting to himself that he should never engage in blind dates again (especially with Nagisa’s suggestions) unless he wants to palpitate out of nervousness.

“You can sit,” Rin adds, pointing at the chair. He feels so awkward. “We, or you can think of a place you want to eat in… yeah. I’m fine with any place.”

Ryugazaki glances at the seat and shakes his head, looking like he’s allergic to the chair. “No, I’m fine. I think this place is reasonable. I hope you don’t mind, Matsuoka-san,” he answers, voice thick with seriousness.

“No, really, I don’t mind,” Rin replies. “Since we’re both here and, ah, well, I think the ambience here is nice.”

Ryugazaki nods, pushing his red-framed glasses up his nose. “Very well then. I shall order for the both of us. What do you wish to eat?”

Rin’s jaw drops. Ryugazaki speaks as stiffly as his posture and he acts like a guy itching to avoid his date as much as possible. Not that Rin wants this to be a date. Nagisa does. And maybe Haru, Makoto, and Gou too.

“I can go with you…?” Rin squeaks with uncertainty.

Ryugazaki shakes his head. “It’s okay, Matsuoka-san. If you leave this table, others will claim it.”

Right. Why hasn’t he thought of that?

“And it’s also my way of apologizing for being late. Please allow me to give your order.”

And for once, Ryugazaki’s voice has softened, hints of pleading in his tone. Rin exhales, somewhat less worried now, and tells the younger boy to buy his favorite chicken sandwich while handing him money.

“No beverages, Matsuoka-san?” Ryugazaki asks with an eyebrow raised.

Rin bites his lip. He hasn’t brought enough money for another drink, but he can’t admit that. And the hot chocolate did the trick for him earlier. “It’s fine. I can get water from the water station.”

The blue-haired boy gives him a final nod and turns around, but Rin quickly calls out to him. “And it’s Rin! You can call me Rin!”

Ryugazaki stares back at him (as well as several other customers) and sheepishly, awkwardly smiles before moving again towards the counter. Rin feels more eyes bore holes in his head, and he buries his flustered face in his palms. He can feel the heat on his face and his heartbeat on his chest.

He has embarrassed himself again in front of Ryugazaki. The guy must hate him now. Or at least see past his intimidating teeth and see how downright unintimidating Rin is due to his weird socializing skills.

Maybe he should stop hanging out with Haru for a while.

Ryugazaki returns after six minutes with their food (Rin wasn’t counting. Really, he wasn’t) and finally sits down, back very straight on the chair’s backrest. Rin tries to tune his thoughts out and faze into the typical coffee shop mood. But he can’t just ignore Ryugazaki, who’s sitting right in front of him and taking glances at him.

Maybe Ryugazaki has gotten creeped out with his teeth and is lowkey trying to hide it, but can’t stop looking either.

Maybe Haru is right, that he should fix his smile.

“S-so, what did you order?” Rin asks, breaking the silence, realizing how dumb it is for him to ask with the food in front of them. Ryugazaki’s stare lands on him.

“Just a coffee and a sandwich,” he replies. “I think it’s enough for a pre-lunch meal.”

“You’re planning to eat lunch after this?” Rin raises a brow. Won’t their, er, date, last long enough to reach noontime?

Ryugazaki fidgets. FIDGETS. Rin blinks at the show of emotion. Perhaps the boy isn’t as robotic as Rin thinks.

“I… haven’t had breakfast yet,” he admits, lowering his head. “I fell asleep last night without finishing the paper I had to pass earlier. Which is why I was late earlier, and I apologize.”

Rin smiles. He seems more human. (And more of a college student.)

Ryugazaki should eat more, he thinks. Rin pats himself on the back for remembering to bring his ATM card, at least. If Ryugazaki outs his grudge against Rin for “cheating” in their lab class, he can make things up to him with a free lunch.

“No need to be apologetic,” Rin assures, chuckling. “I get it. But you should eat more after this.”

The other boy nods. “I will. How about you, Matsuoka-sa-er, Rin-san?”

Rin rubs the back of his head, hiding his grin. Ryugazaki’s humorless façade was slowly crumbling. “I think I need to have another round of eating too. A sandwich won’t cut it.”

Ryugazaki chuckles softly, and Rin smiles.

And realizes what he said sounds like a flirty suggestion to eat lunch together.

Haru’s going to laugh his ass off if he finds out about this.

“Dessert,” Rin blurts out. “Do you want some dessert after?”

The tips of his ears are red, he’s sure of it. He’s even surer that his ears will melt off in a matter of minutes. He might as well be the poster boy of Awkward Blind Dates Weekly if he keeps this up. Why is he even talking about dessert anyway? Their haven't even touched their sandwiches yet!

Ryugazaki looks at him with a smile. An actual smile. With a soft gaze. And his glistening, violet eyes. _Holy shit, Nagisa’s right_. He looks cool. Charming.

“That sounds nice,” Ryugazaki replies.

Unfortunately for Rin, silence envelopes them once again, and he resorts to checking his phone with non-existent new messages. His fingers were shaking, itching to text Makoto for some advice on how to converse with someone you did wrong to and have to apologize to eventually like a normal person. Not that Makoto ever did something bad to someone, but he’s the kind of precious human being that can tell you how kindness works.

His phone suddenly vibrates, and Rin almost drops it.

 

**[From: Haru – 10:58 AM]**

**how's the date? did he criticize your teeth yet?**

**[Compose Message – To: Haru]**

**fuck off fishface**

**[From: Haru – 10:59 AM]**

**aha. you replied. is he boring?**

**[Compose Message – To: Haru]**

**no. we just don’t have anything to talk about**

**[From: Haru – 10:59 AM]**

**talk about nagisa. maybe that’s a good start**

As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Haru can be a lifesaver if he wants to.

“So, you’re friends with Nagisa?” Rin begins, tucking his phone in his pocket. He feels the urge to text Haru back, but the guy won’t mind. He never texts as much as he did today anyway.

And he crosses his fingers he can sneak in his apology with this line of conversation.

Ryugazaki looks up from his phone and nods, a small smile emerging on his face. “Yes. We were classmates back in elementary.” He pauses. “He was also my best friend then.”

“Did you guys keep in touch after elementary?” Rin adds. Nagisa hadn’t said much yesterday.

“Nagisa insisted,” Ryugazaki answers, smile getting wider and eyes getting even softer. “He sent letters. We traded numbers when we finally had phones, and we exchanged emails too. Nagisa was very much the most constant friend I ever had.”

Rin finds himself smiling at how refreshingly persistent Nagisa had been in their friendship. Ryugazaki’s voice is full of fondness, as though he’s recalling all the kind things Nagisa had done for him during the course of their friendship.

“That’s Nagisa for you,” Rin chuckles. “He gets on my nerves sometimes, but he’s loyal to a fault.”

Ryugazaki nods, finally showing off a pearly white grin. _Even his smile is perfect, holy shit._ “That’s true. The pranks Nagisa-kun had pulled on me can’t fit in a sixty leaf notebook.”

Rin laughs, especially at the specificity of Ryugazaki’s statement. “Yeah. I wonder how I stayed sane with him around.”

The other boy’s smile slowly falls into a thin line, and his eyes narrow at Rin. “Something seems familiar.”

Rin winces. It’s now or never.

“Yeah… I’m your classmate in Chemistry lab.” Ryugazaki stays silent. Rin exhales, hoping Ryugazaki won’t suddenly snap at him after what he’ll confess. “Look, I know you saw me looking at your notebook, but I wasn’t trying to cheat off of you.”

He waits for another hint of emotion from Ryugazaki’s face. And waits. And waits. And waits for another second. Rin can feel his palms sweating enough liquid for a river.

And then, Ryugazaki pushes his glasses up his nose again. “I inferred as much, Rin-san.”

What.

_WHAT?_

Rin’s words stay stuck in his throat. He should explain more, he realizes, but the words fly away from his mind after seeing Ryugazaki’s face turn pink.

“I… actually wanted to talk to you about it,” Ryugazaki adds, finally looking at Rin straight at his eyes. “I wanted to approach you after classes to talk about it, but you looked so angry, I backed out. And I was afraid to bring it up today.”

Rin’s mouth hangs open. “Me? I looked angry? Did you think I was mad at you?”

Ryugazaki clears his throat. “Well, I noticed you were furious because you couldn’t see the experiment. I thought you became annoyed at me for telling Ino-san to move. Maybe you wanted to handle it yourself, and I interfered instead.”

He can’t believe what he’s hearing. He’s actually GRATEFUL Ryugazaki told his bean-headed classmate to move. His face pales and he shakes his hands in front of him.

“No, no, no. I wasn’t annoyed. I was actually nervous because you looked annoyed at me for looking at your notebook!” Rin replies frantically. 

“D-did I look annoyed?” Ryugazaki asks, face turning even redder.

“Yes,” Rin answers in a heartbeat. If he recalls correctly, Ryugazaki had stared at him like he was a criminal.

Ryugazaki frowns. “I really must work on my facial expressions. Nagisa-kun had told me I sometimes have a ‘resting bitch face’, even though I don’t really think I do.” He glances at Rin again and sighs. “I apologize. This is one big misunderstanding. I should have talked to you sooner.”

Rin feels embarrassed hearing all this from Ryugazaki. If anyone has a fault in causing the misunderstanding, it’s him, not the younger boy.

“Okay, I wasn’t mad, you weren’t mad. Let’s just move on,” Rin says. “But seriously, I’m really sorry I looked like I was trying to cheat off of you. My partner isn’t really willing to share data and I was getting desperate.”

Ryugazaki nods. “You don’t have to explain, Rin-san. I really saw how frustrated you were. And who’s your partner?”

Rin scowls. “Enoshima Hina.”

He doesn’t expect Ryugazaki to understand, but a thoughtful look lights up his face instead. “Ah, yes. Hina-san is very selfish with his work. We were classmates in high school.”

“Right?!” Rin exclaims, standing up. Realizing he has caught the attention of not just Ryugazaki, however, makes him return to his seat and blush a bright shade of scarlet.

Ryugazaki’s expression finally softens (permanently, Rin hopes), as he leans back again. “If you want, I can provide you with the colors you missed. I will leave it to you to search for the metal salts, however.”

“Thank you very much, Ryugazaki-san!” Rin says, bowing his head.

“It’s no problem, Rin-san,” Ryugazaki replies, smiling.

Maybe he hasn’t been able to sleep, thinking about his side of the misunderstanding. In a way, Rin feels relieved. And Ryugazaki seems really kind, now that he’s past the layers of his intimidating looks (yes, Rin agrees with Nagisa about Ryugazaki’s resting bitch face) and his rigid mode of speaking.

“And call me Rei.”

The younger boy reaches his hand out.

A handshake. He’s initiating a handshake.

And Rin takes his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Nice to meet you, Rei.”

As they let go, Rin realizes something. “Wait, what do you mean by something’s familiar?”

Rei stares back at him again funnily, squinting his eyes. “It’s just that… you kind of look like Nagisa-kun’s girlfriend.”

Ah. That’s why.

Rin rolls his eyes and exhales exasperatedly.

“I’m assuming you’re related,” Rei adds, putting a hand over his mouth as though he has said something wrong.

“I’m her brother.” _And I have to deal with Nagisa’s shit all the time_ is an underlying message in his tone, probably picked up by Rei as implied by the look on his face.

But today, Rin actually appreciates Nagisa’s effort.

_Obviously, you’re stressed out about that ‘cheating or not cheating’ problem you have, so I think meeting a cute guy could help you._

It definitely has helped him solve his problem.

~~And he’s right. Rei is actually cute.~~

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt is originally from dailyau.tumblr.com, but I can't find it anymore D: so here's a [link](http://lexi-laz.tumblr.com/post/145449673236/were-doing-a-lab-in-chemistry-with-the-flame) to a post that shows it did came from dailyau XD
> 
> Also, you can find me on jiemmewrites.tumblr.com! :D


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